Dr Francis Young
@drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
Historian of religion and belief | folklorist | Balticist | indexer | lay canon @stedscath.bsky.social | series editor for @universitypress.cambridge.org
Pinned
I’m delighted that ‘Silence of the Gods’ is one of
@universitypress.cambridge.org's Books of the Year! Currently on display at @cambridgebookshop.bsky.social, and on special offer online too: www.cambridgebookshop.co.uk/products/sal... 📚
@universitypress.cambridge.org's Books of the Year! Currently on display at @cambridgebookshop.bsky.social, and on special offer online too: www.cambridgebookshop.co.uk/products/sal... 📚
Today my daughter asked me to pretend to be a horseicorn, a cross between a horse and a unicorn - which feels like a failure of logic, somehow
November 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Today my daughter asked me to pretend to be a horseicorn, a cross between a horse and a unicorn - which feels like a failure of logic, somehow
"A new urban environment built mainly of wood," pre-1666 London has entered the chat
What do you think of this: a new urban environment built mainly of wood, linked by #trams: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
How ambitious ‘forest city’ plan for England could become a reality
Cross-party coalition behind proposals hope eco-friendly scheme for million people could begin before end of decade
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
"A new urban environment built mainly of wood," pre-1666 London has entered the chat
I know we always infer by analogy with reptiles and birds that dinosaurs had wholly internal ears, but given that they wouldn’t be preserved in the fossil record do we know for a fact that no dinosaur had big floppy ears like an elephant?
November 22, 2025 at 7:36 PM
I know we always infer by analogy with reptiles and birds that dinosaurs had wholly internal ears, but given that they wouldn’t be preserved in the fossil record do we know for a fact that no dinosaur had big floppy ears like an elephant?
This evening, some psychedelic megaliths (psychedeliths?)
November 22, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This evening, some psychedelic megaliths (psychedeliths?)
Has any mad dictator ever had an armoured personal tram?
November 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Has any mad dictator ever had an armoured personal tram?
The existence of Netizens implies the existence of Dotcomrades
November 21, 2025 at 6:26 PM
The existence of Netizens implies the existence of Dotcomrades
Just got this from @blpublishing.bsky.social by @tanyakirk.bsky.social! 📚👻 shop.bl.uk/products/the...
November 21, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Just got this from @blpublishing.bsky.social by @tanyakirk.bsky.social! 📚👻 shop.bl.uk/products/the...
Just about to do some filming 🎥
November 21, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Just about to do some filming 🎥
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
There's plenty happening at St Edmundsbury Cathedral this Christmas! As well as our advent services, we have a full roster of Christmas concerts! Find out more at stedscathedral.org/whats-on
November 21, 2025 at 9:49 AM
There's plenty happening at St Edmundsbury Cathedral this Christmas! As well as our advent services, we have a full roster of Christmas concerts! Find out more at stedscathedral.org/whats-on
So many academic book prizes are awarded for first books, how about a prize awarded annually to the most promising last book written by a scholar? (the award would probably have to be posthumous, but still)
November 21, 2025 at 11:58 AM
So many academic book prizes are awarded for first books, how about a prize awarded annually to the most promising last book written by a scholar? (the award would probably have to be posthumous, but still)
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
I have Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King and can highly recommend it. A really interesting read. I would also recommend a visit to Bury St Edmunds and the Abbey Gardens.
November 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I have Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King and can highly recommend it. A really interesting read. I would also recommend a visit to Bury St Edmunds and the Abbey Gardens.
If you're interested in learning more about St Edmund, don't forget my two books about him, both currently on special offer!
Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King bloomsbury.com/uk/edmund-97...
Athassel Priory and the Cult of St Edmund in Medieval Ireland fourcourtspress.ie/books/2020/a...
Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King bloomsbury.com/uk/edmund-97...
Athassel Priory and the Cult of St Edmund in Medieval Ireland fourcourtspress.ie/books/2020/a...
November 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM
If you're interested in learning more about St Edmund, don't forget my two books about him, both currently on special offer!
Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King bloomsbury.com/uk/edmund-97...
Athassel Priory and the Cult of St Edmund in Medieval Ireland fourcourtspress.ie/books/2020/a...
Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King bloomsbury.com/uk/edmund-97...
Athassel Priory and the Cult of St Edmund in Medieval Ireland fourcourtspress.ie/books/2020/a...
Just got this book to review 📚
November 20, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Just got this book to review 📚
This St Edmund's Day, let's talk about the *St Edmund Extended Universe*, the various invented relatives and associates that Edmund picked up along the way. First up, there's the obscure St Fremund (who?), allegedly a cousin of St Edmund... (thread)
November 20, 2025 at 10:12 AM
This St Edmund's Day, let's talk about the *St Edmund Extended Universe*, the various invented relatives and associates that Edmund picked up along the way. First up, there's the obscure St Fremund (who?), allegedly a cousin of St Edmund... (thread)
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
Congratulations to @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social and Simon Goldhill, whose books, 'Silence of the Gods' and 'Queer Cambridge', have been selected by @thetls.bsky.social as Books of the Year 2025 🥳
Read more 🔗 (paywall): https://cup.org/4r9BMnA
Read more 🔗 (paywall): https://cup.org/4r9BMnA
Books of the Year 2025
David Abulafia In Silence of the Gods (CUP), Francis Young fills a gaping hole in knowledge about the religious beliefs of peoples living beyond the bounds of Christendom in medieval and early modern ...
www.the-tls.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Congratulations to @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social and Simon Goldhill, whose books, 'Silence of the Gods' and 'Queer Cambridge', have been selected by @thetls.bsky.social as Books of the Year 2025 🥳
Read more 🔗 (paywall): https://cup.org/4r9BMnA
Read more 🔗 (paywall): https://cup.org/4r9BMnA
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
Today's the feast of St Edmund, King and Martyr, patron saint of East Anglia. A partial boss in St Edmund's church, Norwich, reads Velut Rosa, Vel Lilium, 'like a rose or a lily'. A sword and an arrow pierce three crowns.
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichedmun...
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichedmun...
November 20, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Today's the feast of St Edmund, King and Martyr, patron saint of East Anglia. A partial boss in St Edmund's church, Norwich, reads Velut Rosa, Vel Lilium, 'like a rose or a lily'. A sword and an arrow pierce three crowns.
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichedmun...
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichedmun...
O invincible martyr
O unconquerable witness
O Edmund, like a rose or lily 👑🏹🐺
O unconquerable witness
O Edmund, like a rose or lily 👑🏹🐺
November 19, 2025 at 10:23 PM
O invincible martyr
O unconquerable witness
O Edmund, like a rose or lily 👑🏹🐺
O unconquerable witness
O Edmund, like a rose or lily 👑🏹🐺
Congratulations to Cato Pedder on winning this evening’s Historical Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown! A great evening in the crypt of St James’ Clerkenwell with writers, wine and - most importantly - cheese ✍️🍷🧀
November 19, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Congratulations to Cato Pedder on winning this evening’s Historical Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown! A great evening in the crypt of St James’ Clerkenwell with writers, wine and - most importantly - cheese ✍️🍷🧀
As dusk falls on the Vigil of St Edmund, a pretty weird depiction of the saint (via @simoninsuffolk.bsky.social) from the rood screen of St Mary’s, Stalham in Norfolk www.flickr.com/photos/norfo...
rood screen panel: St Edmund
St Mary, Stalham, Norfolk Stalham is a fine little town in the northern part of the Broads, full of activity but on a human scale. It's not as well known as the Wroxham/Hoveton conurbation, but its a...
www.flickr.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
As dusk falls on the Vigil of St Edmund, a pretty weird depiction of the saint (via @simoninsuffolk.bsky.social) from the rood screen of St Mary’s, Stalham in Norfolk www.flickr.com/photos/norfo...
It’s wild that the rate for writing 500 words in a compilation trade book is about the same as the royalties I’ve received over a 10-year period for an academic book that did reasonably well, by academic publishing standards
November 19, 2025 at 3:44 PM
It’s wild that the rate for writing 500 words in a compilation trade book is about the same as the royalties I’ve received over a 10-year period for an academic book that did reasonably well, by academic publishing standards
And the trouble is I've only just realised the page numbers are non-sequential so I have been happily citing the book in the naïve assumption that they would be, and now I have to go back and amend all my citations
I am trying to work out how to cite a single-volume collection of a scholar's papers where the chapters *retain the page numbering of the original journals where they were published*, so there are no consecutive page numbers throughout the book 😱
a man with a mustache is standing in front of a door and says `` this is my hell '' .
ALT: a man with a mustache is standing in front of a door and says `` this is my hell '' .
media.tenor.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:48 AM
And the trouble is I've only just realised the page numbers are non-sequential so I have been happily citing the book in the naïve assumption that they would be, and now I have to go back and amend all my citations
I am trying to work out how to cite a single-volume collection of a scholar's papers where the chapters *retain the page numbering of the original journals where they were published*, so there are no consecutive page numbers throughout the book 😱
a man with a mustache is standing in front of a door and says `` this is my hell '' .
ALT: a man with a mustache is standing in front of a door and says `` this is my hell '' .
media.tenor.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:41 AM
I am trying to work out how to cite a single-volume collection of a scholar's papers where the chapters *retain the page numbering of the original journals where they were published*, so there are no consecutive page numbers throughout the book 😱
This has to be the funniest @churchtimes.bsky.social headline of the year, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 19, 2025 at 9:43 AM
This has to be the funniest @churchtimes.bsky.social headline of the year, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Going even deeper into this rabbithole, it's arguable that even an instituted acolyte (that's a properly authorised acolyte, not just a rando performing the role of acolyte) can make holy water, since the order of acolyte is above that of exorcist in old minor orders, and thus implicitly contains it
In fact you don't even need a priest - deacons can make holy water too. And you can bypass even that requirement by getting holy water from a shrine such as the well at Walsingham or St Winefrid's Well; some churches even have a whole cistern of holy water you can fill up from, too
November 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Going even deeper into this rabbithole, it's arguable that even an instituted acolyte (that's a properly authorised acolyte, not just a rando performing the role of acolyte) can make holy water, since the order of acolyte is above that of exorcist in old minor orders, and thus implicitly contains it
Reposted by Dr Francis Young
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.